Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 4. november 2005 / Timeline November 4, 2005
Version 3.53. November 2005, 5. November 2005
11/04/2005
Sensitive Nuclear Material Out of Los Alamos TA-18
Facility
Most now housed at the highly secure Device Assembly Facility in
the Nevada desert
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Completing a process that began last year, the
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has successfully
removed the most sensitive nuclear weapons-usable materials
(category I and II special nuclear material) from Los Alamos
National Laboratory's Technical Area (TA) 18 to more secure
locations.
NNSA Administrator Linton F. Brooks said the nuclear material,
which includes weapons grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium,
has been sent to the Nevada Test Site, the Y-12 National Security
Complex and Los Alamos' TA-55.
NNSA announced in December 2002 that the TA-18 mission would be
moved to the high security Device Assembly Facility (DAF) located
on the Nevada Test Site in the Nevada desert. Over half of the
nuclear material formerly housed at TA-18 now resides at DAF to
support the TA-18 mission. NNSA plans to have all nuclear materials
(the less sensitive categories III and IV) out of TA-18 by
2008.
"It is important to U.S. national security that we have the highest
level of security for our most sensitive assets, including the
material formerly at TA-18," Brooks said. "This material transfer
would not have happened without the cooperative efforts by a number
of DOE and NNSA sites, including our Los Alamos Site Office and the
lab itself, and the Nevada Site Office and its contractors. I am
proud of the hard work and cooperation that went into sending this
material to more secure locations."
The project began with the first shipment of TA-18 programmatic
material in September 2004. Despite a seven-month Los Alamos
stand-down, the relocation was completed less than a month after
the originally forecast completion date of September 30, 2005.
The material transfer is part of Brooks' five-part initiative
started in July 2003 to reinforce security oversight and strengthen
long-term security operations in the nuclear weapons complex.
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency
within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for maintaining
and enhancing the safety, security, reliability and performance of
the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; working
to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; providing
the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and
responding to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and
abroad. For more information, visit www.nnsa.doe.gov.
11/04/2005
Aegis Defence adds Rubicon to its portfolio
By James Boxell
The Financial Times
Aegis Defence Services, the London-based company that oversees more
than 20,000 armed expatriates working in Iraq, has acquired a rival
group in the first sign ofconsolidation in the highly fragmented
The company has also appointed a series of high-profile
non-executive directors, including a former chief of the British
defence staff, as it looks to build its credibility with corporate
and government customers...
11/04/2005
En dansk soldat i Irak er død 'af naturlige årsager',
noterer Berlingske Tidende.
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